Mower



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

J. A. 82: A. A. PETERKIN.

MOWER.

amvawtow qum 414.4,;

H Patented Sept. 23, 1890.

(No Model.) 3 Sheets sheet-lfi J. A. &.'A. A. PETBRKIN.

MOWER. No. 486,878. Patented Sept. 23, 1890.,

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

J. A. 8; A. A. PETERKIN.

MOWER. No. 436,878. Patented Sept, 23, 1890.

IIIHUHIHIIIIIHIIIIIIIMUllllllllll N g b I' U]- I [I] I! H W333? I Q o EI. 1%: 4g I g Q 1| I RI a q IQ! N *5 k W h w El' e *W] I r w M II I RI6% ymewlfims R W gg w wail UNITED STATES PATENT- OFFICEQ" JAMESALEXANDER PETERKIN AND ANGEL ALFORD PETERKIN, OF FORT MOTT, SOUTHCAROLINA.

MOWER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 436,878, datedSeptember 23, 1890.

Application filed January 6, 1890. Serial No. 335,990- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, JAMES ALEXANDER PETERKIN and ANoEL ALFORD PETERKIN,citizens of the United States, residing at Fort Mott, in the county ofOrangeburg and State of South Carolina, have invented new and usefulImprovements in Mowers, of which the following is a specification.

Our improvement consists in a novel device for vibrating the knife ofthe cutter-bar, whereby we dispense with the usual pitman and crankconnections and obtain a direct push and pull upon the knife, thusgreatly reducing the wear of the parts, and also in a novel manner ofsuspending the cutter-bar and its attachments to the frame of the mower,by which means it is readily thrown into and out of gear with thedriving mechanism and lifted and lowered for transportation.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate our invention, Figure 1is a side View, partly in'cross-section, showing the gear and manner ofpivoting the cutter-bar and its attachments. Fig. 2 is a plan view ofthe same. Fig. 3 is a front view of our improved mower. Fig. 4 is a Viewof a modified form of the camwheel and clutch for vibrating the knife,and Fig. 5 aplan View of the guide and cutter-bar.

A, Fig. 1, is the frame of the mower, supported and rocking upon themain axle B.

a a, are the wheels.

0 is the independent tongue connected to the main axle B, and from whichthe lower part of the frame A, carrying the shoe and cutter-barattachment, is suspended by means of the chain E and the lifting deviceF. The lifter F consists of the quadrant G, secured to the shaft g,turning in bearings upon tongue 0 by means of the hand-lever g fittinginto a socket 011 the shaft g. A pivoted pawl 11, having a handle it anda toothed rack h secured to the tongue, allows of a varying adjustmentof the height of the cut.

I is the foot-rest secured to the tongue so that by the pressure againstit of the feet of the driver seated on the seat attached to the rear ofthe frame A the latter, with all of its attachments, is rocked upon themain axle B, and the lower end of the frame, with the shoe andcutter-bar, is lifted over any inequalities of the ground.

The wheels a a, which revolve freely upon the main axle B, are providedwith pawls b b, by which they can be locked to the ratchet-wheel b,rigidly mounted upon the main axle B, thus causing the latter to revolvewith the wheels. The pawls b b are held. to the ratchet-wheel Z) bymeans of the springs c c in a Well'known way.

A toothed pinion J, rigidly mounted on the main axle B, gears with apinion K, similarly mounted 011 a shaft is, turning in bearings upon theframe A. A second pinion K, also rigidly mounted on the shaft 70, gearswith a third pinion L, which, with its shaft 1, revolves in suitablebearings on the frame A. A cam-wheel M, also mounted on and turning withthe shaft Z, engages with a clutch N,

reciprocating in a groove 0 in the guide 0,.

secured to the frame A, as hereinafter described. The cutter-bar D isbolted to an offset at one end of the guide 0, while the knife P isbolted to the slide which supports the clutch N. The cam-Wheel M, whichis of such dimensions as to give the least possible friction, isconstructed with half of its periphery in the direction of a right-handscrew and the other half in that of a left-hand screw, so that onecomplete revolution of the cam causes but one reciprocation of theclutch N and the cutter-knife P. The operation of this part of ourinvention is as follows: The main axle B being thrown into gear with thewheels (1 a by means of the pawls and ratchet Z) b b, the train ofpinions J K K I; are revolved, turning the cam-wheel M and giving theknife I a rapid reciprocating motion in a direct line with the forceapplied. The cam-wheel M is thrown into and out of gear with the clutchN by the following n1echanism: The guide 0 is suspended from the shoe ofthe frame A at Q by the lugs q q anda bolt q, and is fastened to theother end offrame A by means of a removable bolt or latch R. It followsthat on raising the frame A by rocking it upon the main axle B and thenwithdrawing the bolt R the cutter-bar D can be lifted vertically uponits pivot Q, the guide O projecting downward, but not suficiently.

so to strike the ground. The clutch N is thus withdrawn from engagementwith the cam wheel M and the knife P ceases to vibrate.

On lowering the cutter-bar the clutch and cam-Wheel again engage, as inthe first instance. By this arrangement of the guide and. cutter-bar weare also enabled to withdraw and release the clutch and knife when theguide is lowered by simply drawing the clutch N and the attached knife Pfrom their guides without the loosening of bolts or latches.

We have thus far described a cam-wheel having a continuous anduninterrupted motion; but we may, if necessary, provide a camwheel, asshown in Fig. 4;, in which two parts of its periphery corresponding toboth ends of its stroke are made straightthat is to say, without lateralpitch-in order to bring the blade to a full stop before beginning thereverse motion, which makes it easier of operation than in the firstinstance. In Fig. 4 we have also shown a clutch pivoted to the slide ofthe knife-blade.

In Fig. 5 the clutch N is shown as consisting of two lugs n n, havingover their ends movable faces or bearing a n. The bearing it has a slot19, through which it is bolted to the lug a, but permitting of a forwardmovement on the lug to take up the wear or lost motion, the bearings 91.being held firmly to the cam M by liners winserted between the head ofthe lugs and the bearings. We also make the seat of the driveradjustable upon the frame A in respect to its distance from the mainaxleB, in order to set it for the weight of the driver, that he maynearly counterbalance the weight of the slide ends of the frame with thecutter-bar and the driving-gear.

Among the various advantages arising from our invention are thefollowing: When the mower is in operation, there is no weight upon thetongue or shaft to be held up by the team, arising from the fact thatthe frame and all of the cutting attachments are supported directlyuponthe main axle; there is no strain to keep the gearing in place; theblade is driven bya force in line with its axis,neither pulling it upnor down, and preventing all loose working of the finger-bar whicharises when movement is imparted to the knife at an angle to its axis;the ease with which the blade can be removed and replaced withoutaltering the adjustments; great facility in raising the blade overobstructions in the ground bya simple pressure of the feet, thus leavingboth hands free; the facility with which both frame and cutter-bar passover obstructions bearing against them at any point, owing to therocking of all parts together, and the simplicity of the constructionand fewness of parts of our mower as compared With other mowers andharvesters now known to us. It is also evident that, owing to theabsence of bevel-gearing and the fact that the force applied is all inone direction, we may cast the frame and journal-boxes in one piece, andthus mount the gearing withvout the use of bolts.

gear for actuating the cam-wheel, whereby the knife is driven with adirect push and pull, substantially as described.

2. The combination, in a mower, of the frame, the cutter-bar pivotedthereto and extending inward beyond said pivot, a latching device at theinner end of said extension for holding said cutter-bar in operativeposition, and means for driving the cutter located on the frame betweensaid pivot and latch, which is disengaged from the cutter when thelatter is lifted out of its operative position, substantially as setforth.

3. The combination, in a mower, of a frame rocking upon the main axle, acam-wheel mounted upon the frame, a cutter-bar and knife pivoted at ornear one side of the frame and having an extension across the frame, adevice for engaging the knife directly with the cam-wheel when inoperative position, a latch located at or near the other side of theframe for locking the cutter-bar and knife in such position, andsuitable driving-gear for actuating the cam-wheel mounted upon theframe, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. The combination, with the main axle of a mower, of a frame rockingupon the main axle, the cutter-bar and its knife pivoted at or near oneside of the frame, having an extension across the frame, a latchingdevice for lockin g the cutter-bar in its operative position, located ator near the other side of the frame, driving-gear for actuating theknife mounted on the frame, a counterbalance drivers seat, also locatedon the frame, the tongue attached to the axle, and a lifter for liftingthe cutterbar end of the frame located on the tongue, whereby when thecutter-bar is locked it. may be lifted in a horizontal position and theheight of the cut adjusted, substantially as described. 7

5. The combination, in a mower, of the frame A, the main axle B, thecutter-bar D, the guide 0, extendingjacross and pivoted to one side ofthe frame and having the groove 0, the clutch N, the knife P, attachedto the clutch, the cam M, and the driving-gear J K K L, mounted upon theframe and actuated by the main axle B of the mower, substantially asdescribed.

6. The combination, in a mower, of the frame A, the main axle B, thecutter-barD and guide pivoted at Q, the latter forming an extension ofthe cutter-bar beyond its pivot, the clutch N, supported on a slidereciprocating in the groove 0, the knife P, attached to the slide whichsupports the clutch, the latching device R, to hold the cutter-bar inits operative position, the cam M, mounted upon the frame A and engagingwith the clutch, and drivinggear mounted upon the frame and driven bythe main axle B, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

7. Thecombination, in a mower, of the frame A, the main axle B, theadjustable drivers seat located as described, the driving-gear J K K L,mounted upon the frame and actuated by the main axle B, the cam M, thecutter-bar D and guide 0, pivoted to the frame at Q, the latter formingan extension of the cutter-bar beyond its pivot, the latch R, to holdthe cutter-bar in operative position, the clutch N and knife P, thetongue 0, attached to the main axle B, and the lifter F, mounted uponthe tongue all operating substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

8. The combination, with a reciprocating cutter, of a cam-wheel having aportion of its periphery a right-handed screw, an equal por- JAMESALEXANDER PETERKIN. ANGEL ALFORD PETERKIN.

Witnesses as to J. A. Peterkin:

R. A. HAIRE, N. E. CARROLL.

Witnesses as to A. A. Peterkin:

M. P. CALLAN, WooDBURY LoWERY.

